SpaceX's Unique Cargo Ship Just Returned From The International Space Station

NASAThe SpaceX Dragon commercial cargo spacecraft grappled to Canadarm2 at the International Space Station

A commercial spacecraft owned by California-based company Space Exploration Technologiessplashed into the Pacific on Sunday after leaving the International Space Station five hours earlier.

The cargo ship, named Dragon, is the only supply ship capable of returning items to Earth because others burn up on re-entry. It brought back 3,500 pounds of science samples and old equipment for NASA.

The Dragon delivered a full shipment to the orbiting lab's crew on Easter Sunday (April 20). The package included supplies, science experiments, and a pair of legs for the experimental humanoid robot aboard.

"Thanks to everybody who worked this Dragon mission. It went very well," station commander Steven Swanson told NASA's Mission Control Center in Houston after Dragon left the station's orbit.